Understanding Crane Accident

Failures:

A report on causes of deaths in

crane-related accidents

Michael McCann, PhD, CIHPresented at2010 Crane & Rigging ConferenceMay 27, 2010

Overview

Analysis of crane related deaths and injuries in the U.S. construction

industry

Description of selected incidents

Sources of data

Bureau of Labor statistics CFOI Research File

CraneAccidents.com

OSHA Underground

Cranes Today

Weekly Toll

Google

News articles

Descriptive statistics on deaths and injuries

Recommendations/ Operation and Inspections

Status of Regulation

Background:

Selected Fatal Crane Incidents 2008*

3/15/08 New York, NY. Tower crane collapsed while being jumped, damaging several buildings.

6 construction workers and 1 bystander died

13 construction workers and 11 first responders injured

3/25/08 Miami, FL. 20-foot section crane fell 30 stories while jumping the crane. Miami, FL.

2 construction workers died

5 construction workers injured

* Source: Google, newspaper reports

Selected Fatal Crane

Incidents (cont.)

5/30/08 New York, NY. Crane cab, boom and chain deck separate

from tower mast and fell to street.

2 construction workers died

1 construction worker and 1 bystander injured

7/18/08 Houston, TX. Mobile crane fell on tent.

4 construction workers died

7 construction workers injured

7/24/08 Oklahoma City, OK. Mobile crane putting steeple on church

collapses on car.

1 bystander died

1 bystander injured

10/10/08 China. Tower crane collapses on kindergarten.

5 children dead, 3 injured

Summary of Construction Crane-Related

Deaths & Injuries, January to December, 2008*

Deaths Injuries

Construction workers 54 100

Bystanders 4 15

Rescue workers -- 11

Total 58 126

*Involves incidents involving 88 mobile cranes, 7 tower cranes, 1 gantry crane and 1 crawler crane.

Sources: CraneAccidents.com, Google, News articles, OSHA Underground, Cranes Today, The Weekly Toll

Causes of Construction Worker Crane-Related

Deaths & Injuries, Jan. 1–Dec. 31, 2008*

Cause # Incidents (%) Deaths Injuries

Crane collapses 34 (39%) 25 59

Overhead power line

contacts

12 (14%) 10 8

Struck by crane load 12 (14%) 6 10

Struck by other crane

parts

10 (11%) 6 7

Other causes* 20 (23%) 7 16

Total 88 54 100

* Includes 7 highway incidents, 6 falls, 3 caught in/between, 3 struck by non-crane falling objects, and 1 struck by lightning incident

Causes of Bystander and Other

Crane-Related Deaths & Injuries,

Jan.1 to Dec. 31, 2008

Cause Incidents Deaths InjuriesHighway collisions 6 (40%) 1 6Crane collapses 4 (27%) 3 14*Other causes** 5 (33%) - 6 Total 15 4 26

* Includes 11 first responder injuries in 3/15 New York tower crane collapse** Includes 2 work zone intrusions, 1 struck by crane load, 1 struck by falling crane boom, and 1 overhead power line contact.

Crane-Related Deaths & Injuries by State,

Jan. 1 to Dec. 31, 2008

Summary:

35 states had 97 crane incidents involving 57 deaths

and 127 injuries

States with the most incidents:

Fl: 13 (13%) with 3 deaths and 19 injuries

TX: 9 (9%) with 9 deaths and 20 injuries

NY: 7 (7%) with 11 deaths and 35 injuries

These 3 states had 40% of deaths and 58% of injuries

Crane-Related Deaths in

Construction, 1992-2006

632 crane-related deaths from 610 incidents in

construction from 1992-2006

- An average of 42 deaths/year

Includes 18 multiple-death incidents involving a total

of 40 deaths

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries

Research File. Data identified by selecting CFOI Source and Secondary

Source codes = “Cranes”, and searching Narratives for key work “crane”.

Crane-Related Deaths in

Construction by Year, 1992-2006

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries Research File

92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 2000 01 02 03 04 05 060

10

20

30

40

50

60

92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006

Year of incident

No

. o

f d

ea

ths

Causes of Crane-Related Deaths in

Construction, 1992-2006

90 deaths

157 deaths

132 deaths

0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30%

Other causes***

Caught in/between

Struck by cranes or crane parts

Falls**

Struck by crane booms/jibs*

Crane collapses

Struck by crane loads

Overhead power line electrocutions

Ca

us

e

% of deaths

157 deaths

132 deaths

89 deaths

78 deaths

56 deaths

47 deaths

30 deaths

43 deaths

Total deaths: 632

* Included 64 struck by falling booms/jibs** Included 21 falls from cranes, 9 falls from crane baskets, 8 from crane loads.***Other causes included 9 highway incidents.Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries Research File

Types of Cranes Involved

in Fatalities

Mobile cranes

Tower cranes

Floating or barge cranes

Overhead cranes

Mobile Cranes

Mobile cranes were involved in:

80 of 95 (84%) of overhead

power line incidents

37 of 59 (63%) of crane

collapses

35 of 59 (60%) of struck by

boom/jib incidents

Types of Cranes Involved:

At least 71% of all crane-related incidents involved mobile cranes

Tower Cranes

Tower cranes were

involved in:

16 of 306 (5%) of all

crane related incidents

5 of 24 (21%) of struck by

crane load incidents

5 of 59 (8%) of struck by

boom/jib deaths

Types of Cranes Involved:

Other/unspecified cranes

Other/unspecified cranes were involved in

24% of all crane related incidents, including:

13 floating or barge crane incidents

12 overhead crane incidents

49 unspecified cranes (16% of incidents)

Types of Cranes Involved:

Main Causes of Worker

Deaths, by Frequency

Electrocutions – from overhead power lines

Struck by crane load

Crane collapse

Struck by falling boom/jib

Overhead Power Line Electrocutions

1992 - 2006

Number of Deaths: 157

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries Research File

Why Workers Died:

13%Worker on

foot touching crane

25%Operating

crane

10%Other

52%Worker on foot

touching/ guiding load cables

Struck By Crane LoadsWhy Workers Died:

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries Research File

1992 - 2006

Number of Deaths: 132

32%Worker not

involved with crane

14%Flagging/ directing/

guiding

32%Loading/ unloading

7%Operating

crane

15%Other crane-related work

Crane Collapses

Why Workers Died:

1992 - 2006

Number of Collapses: 81

Number of Deaths: 89

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries Research File

51%Other/ unknown

causes

12%Overloaded

9%Crane load/ boom shifted

14%Crane cables/

rigging/ stabilizers

broke

15%Uneven/

unstable or icy surface

Struck by Falling Booms/JibsWhy Workers Died:

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries Research File

1992 - 2006

Number of Deaths: 64

56%Dismantling

boom

13%Boom/ boom cable broke

22%Other

9%Lengthening

boom

Trades of Workers Who DiedCrane-Related Deaths in Construction, 1992-2006

Construction laborers

Heavy equipment operators*

Supervisors/Managers/ Admin

Ironworkers

Mechanics

Other trades**

0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35%

% of deaths

191 deaths

101 deaths

86 deaths

42 deaths

41 deaths

171 deaths

Total: 632 deaths

* Includes 62 crane and tower operators, 21 operating engineers and other construction equipment operators, and 7 hoist and winch operators.

** Includes 24 welders and cutters, 22 electrical workers, 21 mechanics, 17 sheet metal workers, 14 truck drivers, and 73 others.

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries Research File

Recommendations

Crane operators should be certified. Presently only 15 states and a few cities (including New

York City and Chicago) require certification.

Crane riggers and signalpersons should be

adequately trained.

Crane inspectors should be qualified persons. OSHA only requires that they be competent persons

Recommendations (cont.)

Cranes should be inspected before being

assembled or modified.

Only trained workers under the supervision

of a qualified person and competent person

should assemble, modify or disassemble

cranes.

Crane loads should not be allowed to pass

over street traffic.

Recommendations (cont.)

OSHA should conduct more thorough investigations of crane-related fatalities and capture more complete data in its reporting system.

OSHA should take immediately action on the proposed consensus crane and derrick standard for construction.

Regulatory Overview

On July 9, 2004, the Federal Advisory

Committee on cranes and derricks (C-DAC)

reached a consensus for a new crane and

derricks standard.

On October 9, 2008, OSHA published a

proposed rule on Cranes and Derricks in

Construction in the Federal Register.

The deadline for comments was January 22,

2009 and a hearing held March 17. Final rule is

due in July, 2010

For Further Information

Mike McCann: mmccann@cpwr.com

Electronic Library of Construction Safety and Health (eLCOSH): www.elcosh.org

CPWR – The Center for Construction Research and Training: www.cpwr.com

CPWR – The Center for Construction Research and Training – is the research arm of the Building and Construction Trades Department, AFL-CIO. This research was funded as part of a grant with CPWR from the National Institute for occupational Safety and Health, NIOSH (NIOSH Grant 1 U54OH008307). The research is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of NIOSH.